Nearly a third of Brits own a coffee pod machine

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This article is part of our 2016 Hot Beverages digital feature

Brits are going potty for coffee pod machines. Thirty per cent now own a machine, up from just 22% a year ago, exclusive research for The Grocer reveals.

The research, conducted by Harris Interactive, found those aged 25 to 34 are most likely to own a machine with 38% claiming to do so, compared with just 24% of those over 55 years of age.

This increase in popularity is having a huge impact on sales of coffee pods in supermarkets. Pods are now worth £137.5m with value up by an impressive 29.6% [Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 22 May 2016].

The Bosch Tassimo remains the favourite with 37% of the market, followed by Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Nespresso in third. The Tassimo is most popular with those aged 45 to 54 – more than half of owners in that age bracket have the Bosch machine. Nespresso, meanwhile, is favoured by younger consumers, with 20% of 16 to 24-year-olds with coffee machines getting their morning pick-me-up from the George Clooney-endorsed brand.

Quality is the biggest driver for owning a pod machine, as more than one third of owners believe they produce superior coffee to instant and are worth the premium. However, there’s still a third of owners who think pods are far too expensive. Coffee pods are significantly more expensive than instant, coming in around 25p to 30p a cup, compared with less than five pence for instant java.

Consumers are becoming less loyal to brands though as the number who only use the manufacturer’s official pods has dropped by five percentage points over the past year to 76%.

Do you own a coffee pod machine?
	Total	Male	Female	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55+
Yes	30%	30%	30%	27%	38%	35%	30%	24%
No	70%	70%	70%	73%	62%	65%	70%	76%

Which type of machine do you own?
	Total	Male	Female	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55+
Bosch Tassimo	37%	33%	40%	33%	31%	39%	51%	32%
Nescafé Dolce Gusto (by De’Longhi or Krups)	30%	26%	34%	25%	23%	35%	27%	34%
Nespresso	16%	18%	15%	20%	17%	15%	12%	19%
Lavazza A Modo Mio (by AEG)	4%	6%	3%	5%	7%	4%	2%	3%
Philips Senseo	4%	5%	4%	3%	7%	3%	1%	5%
Starbucks Verismo	3%	5%	1%	1%	7%	3%	2%	-
Other	6%	8%	4%	12%	7%	2%	4%	6%

Which pods do you use in your machine?
	Total	Male	Female	16-24	25-34	35-44	45-54	55+
I only use the official manufacturer’s pods	76%	73%	78%	56%	70%	80%	82%	80%
I use a combination of the official manufacturer’s pods and third-party pods	15%	14%	15%	27%	14%	10%	12%	16%
I only use third-party pods	9%	13%	6%	17%	16%	10%	5%	3%